Though she be but litte
by MadGirl-SpaceGirl-StarGirl
Summary: … she is fierce. On a hunt, our Winchester boys come across someone, something they can't explain. She is battered, broken and beautiful. But beauty can hide a multitude of sins and in this case danger. Will she be able to survive Sam and Dean or will she be their downfall? With danger round every corner maybe someone a little fierce is exactly what the Winchesters need...
1. Raven hair and emerald eyes

"You take the front."

"_You_ take the front."

"Bitch."

"Jerk."

In the end it was Sam who took the front entrance of the virtually cookie cutter house they were attempting to infiltrate.

They were both hesitant to take the front as their target, Jeff Gasrette, was a fan of setting traps.

And there was the small matter of the vengeful spirit he kept summoning to take out his enemies.

That played a factor as well.

After picking the lock Sam crept inside, two guns drawn and ready. One filled with rock salt cartridges for the spirit and the other with normal bullets for the bastard summoning the damn spirit.

"Woah"

He couldn't help but let the whispered exclamation slip out as he looked around the inside of the house.

From the outside it looked like an all-American home. Flag hanging outside, neatly mown lawn, white picket fence.

But the inside….

There was not a single surface that wasn't covered in one of the following:

A) symbols and sigils, some of which even Sam didn't recognise.  
B) Newspaper cuttings, that all seemed to be about supernatural occurrences.  
C) General filth.

Sam made sure the kitchen, living room and hall were clear before slipping one gun into his waistband and lowering the other as he examined some of the articles on the wall.

"Woah" he said again, eyes widening at the amount of supernatural… memorabilia? Was that the right word? That the guy had.

"Like my collection?"

Sam jumped at the sound the horrible rasping voice. Before he could move at all he felt the cool and all to familiar feeling of a sawn off shotgun being pressed to the back of his neck.

"Drop your gun!" ordered the man carrying it and Sam slowly put the gun on the floor. This must be Gasrette.

"Take it easy" he warned.

"I don't take orders from you boy." Growled the unseen man, pressing the shotgun harder against Sam's skin.

Suddenly there were two distinct thuds.

One was metal hitting flesh.

One was flesh hitting floor.

"How about me asshole?"

Sam whirled round as soon as the gun disappeared from his neck and found Dean standing there his gun drawn, clearly having just knocked Sam's assailant clean out. Lying on the floor was a giant of a man, tall but flabby a scraggily beard adorning his face and a bald spot on the top of his head.

"You okay Sammy?"

"Fine. Thanks."

The brothers stood awkwardly for a minute before Sam cracked a smile and said

"I swear you practice your one liners in the mirror."

* * *

The plan, once the big man was securely restrained, was relatively simple.

Find the talisman and burn the shit out of it.

Then head to the graveyard and salt and burn the bones.

Bobby had texted Dean the name of the spirit about fifteen minutes before they broke into the Gasrette's house. Maggie Daskers. They had decided to get the talisman first then the body second. It seemed to make sense. Stop the thing that could summon the spirit _then _put the spirit itself to rest.

Dean took the upstairs while Sam continued searching downstairs.

The problem was that Jess Gasrette was quite the collector of paranormal objects.

"Hey Dean!"

"What?!" Dean shouted back from upstairs.

"There's way too much here! We should take it all and destroy it al-" but Sam cut himself off as a noise came from behind the door to his left. Drawing his gun once more he approached the door with it's peeling white paint. He pushed it open and found himself at the top of the stairs that must lead to the basement.

Each step creaked as he walked down, gun raised and ready, until he finally reached the bottom.

At once he put his gun away and held up his hands so that he appeared as non-threatening as possible.

"It's okay. It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you."

* * *

"it's okay. It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you."

She couldn't have been much younger than him, but she was tiny, a combination of natural height and unnatural skinniness.

She clearly hadn't seen daylight in a long time, her skin unhealthily pale with enormous dark circles under her eyes. The paleness of her skin only made all the bruises and cuts more prominent. Her arms and legs were littered with injuries and that was just what he could see. God knows how many more marks were hidden under the dirty white tank top and black shorts she wore that did nothing to protect her from the draft that came into the room.

Her hair was raven black and her emerald eyes looked up at Sam in utter terror, as she used her legs to push herself further into the corner and away from him.

She had to use her legs as her wrists were shackled together and attacked to an extremely thick chain that was bolted into the wall.

"It's okay. It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you." Sam said softly, still holding his hands up to show he meant no harm. He slowly walked forwards until he was a few feet away, when the girl whimpered, wedged as close to the wall as she could get, curled into a tight ball.

Sam crouched down so he was on her level.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise. What's your name?"

No answer just more fearful staring.

"What's your name?"

Still no answer, but now she was looking behind him, like she was expecting Gasrette to come in behind Sam.

"I'm not with him. We took him out, he's out cold, tied up upstairs. I swear he will not hurt you again. C'mon sweetheart, what's your name?"

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

And then, a broken, cracked whisper of

"Zoe"

"Zoe" Sam gave her kind smile "My name's Sam. You wanna get out of here?"

That, unlike asking her name, got an immediate response as Zoe nodded her head vigorously and Sam chuckled a little. Suddenly there was a banging sound, as above him at the top of the stairs Dean kicked the basement door open and it smacked off the wall.

"Sammy!? Sam you down here?!"

"Yeah, yeah I'm down here shut up! Dean seriously shut it." Sam half whispered, half shouted at Dean as he descended the stairs, before turning back to a petrified looking Zoe who had pressed right back to the wall whimpering "Shhh, shhh Zoe, Zoe it's okay. That's my brother Dean, he wont hurt you either."

Now that he was actually in the basement and could see who Sam was talking to, Dean looked suitably guilty and then (with some difficulty) put on the softest face he had.

"Yeah. Yeah he's right, I wont hurt you darlin'. Sorry if I scared ya, that was just me bein' a dumbass."

Sam stopped himself from snorting at his brother's self aware honesty and turned back to Zoe, who's green eyes were flitting from brother to brother.

"Come away from the wall sweetheart and we can get you out of here and I swear you will never have to come back. Sound good?"

"Yeah" she whispered again "Yeah that sounds good."

* * *

"Dammit! I don't know what the hell kinda shackles these are but lock picks aren't workin'." Dean said in a voice of frustration and Sam shot him a look as Zoe flinched at his tone.

"Okay. Zoe, cover your eyes." Sam said as he stood up and aimed his gun at the point where the chains were bolted to the wall.

A shot rang out but then Sam and Dean were forced to duck as the bullet ricocheted and buried itself in the wall behind them.

"Nice going Einstein. College really did you good didn't it." Dean said sarcastically. "Now what? Couldn't find the key, lock picks don't work and you nearly killed us with that dumbass idea."

"Well..." Sam trailed off thinking and then glancing at his brother "I got one more dumbass idea... and you're probably not gonna like it."

"What?"

All it took was a look from Sam with a slight smirk to make Dean realise what his little brother was getting at.

"Awh come on! You seriously think he's gonna drop whatever he's doing and just show up if you call?"

"Well not if _I _call..." Sam drawled with a knowing smirk.

Dean glared at his brother who just shrugged, trying not to smile.

"Fine" snapped Dean before closing his eyes.

"I hope your feathery ass is listening right now Cas!"

* * *

**Ta da!**

**So a couple things. **

**1\. I am new to supernatural, i'm only on season three but I've seen later clips which is how I know some stuff about Cas. **

**2\. I will try and stay as true to the lore in the show as I can but if I forget or something doesn't fit my story then i'm gonna change it. Sorry (insert apologetic shrug here) **

**3\. Destiel is real. Change my mind. (doesn't mean i'll include it in this story though) **

**I really like to hear what people think good or constructive criticism (please don't be mean lol) so review or pm me your likes and suggestions on how to improve or what you want to see in this story. **

**My first question is:**

**what ships do you want to see?**

**Sam/oc **  
**Dean/oc**  
**Cas/oc**  
**Sam/Cas**  
**Dean/Cas**

**Let me know!**

**More soon. **

**Geronimo xx**


	2. Easiest to read when sleeping

**TRIGGER WARNING FROM THIS CHAPTER ONWARDS - mentions of rape, assault and child abuse. **

* * *

It took less than eight seconds for Castiel to answer Dean's prayer call.

It took considerably longer for Sam to calm Zoe down after she screamed out loud when Castiel appeared from thin air.

After assuring her that Cas was a friend and was there to help, the angel approached the still visibly afraid girl.

"My name is Castiel. Zoe, I need you to put out your hands." Castiel said in his low, commanding voice.

Tentatively, Zoe extended her trembling hands towards the angel. In a more gentle manner than Dean had ever seen from Cas, the dark haired angel took both of Zoe's hands in one of his and with the other effortlessly snapped the manacles off of her wrists.

The moment she was free Zoe scrambled to her feet...

… and promptly fell back down again with a cry of pain and frustration.

All three men (well two men and an angel) moved towards her with the intention of helping her, but having three tall and physically intimidating men move suddenly towards her sent her scuttling back into the corner. With her back pressed to the wall she stared up at the three of them with wide, frightened and untrusting.

"Woah woah hey, it's alright Zoe" Sam had raised his hands once again and slowly and carefully took three deliberate steps towards Zoe. When she made no move to show that she wanted him to stop approaching her, he took a few more steps until he was an arms length away. Then a thought occurred to him and, making sure not to spook her, he removed his jacket.

"It's cold down here. Here" he held out the jacket towards her "Think you need this more than I do."

After a moment, Zoe crept forwards a few inches and slowly took the jacket. She ran her hands over the material for a moment, before slipping her arms into the sleeves and pulling it on. The jacket dwarfed her small frame, the sleeves hanging well past her hands.

"Better?" Sam asked with a small smile and Zoe nodded. The corner of her mouth twitched, like she wanted to smile but wasn't sure if she should.

"Zoe we're going to leave this place. Do you want to come with us?"

That got a frantic nod and the same cracked and underused voice that had given her name said

"Don't-don't leave me here"

"Okay, okay we wont." Sam promised "Do you think you can walk?" he asked offering his hand for support.

It took a moment but Zoe put one tremulous hand in Sam's and accepted his help to get to her feet. Holding her hand only emphasised to Sam how small the young woman was in comparison to him.

Zoe managed to take a few steps this time before her legs gave out once more. Only this time she didn't fall to the floor. On instinct Sam caught her, one arm around her waist, catching her to him. At once Zoe was pulling to get away from him and Sam dropped the arm from around her waist and said caught the arm that Zoe was hitting at him with. Using his grip on her arms to turn Zoe towards him Sam spoke over her frightened mumbling

"I'm sorry, I just didn't want you to fall! Zoe I swear I'm not gonna hurt you! It's okay!"

At his words, though it took a moment, Zoe slowly started to stop fighting and pulling away from Sam. Still holding her up by her arms, Sam looked over his shoulder at Cas and Dean.

"You two start clearing the house. Anything paranormal take it and destroy it. I got this."

"You sure Sammy?" Dean asked and Sam nodded.

"C'mon Cas" Dean said and at once the angel followed Dean upstairs.

They left and Sam looked down at Zoe.

"Look" he began "You can't walk. So I'm gonna carry you okay?"

Her eyes widened slightly and she gulped.

But to Sam's surprise, she nodded.

Carefully, Sam scooped one arm behind her back and one under her knees, lifting her from the ground. He was surprised once again, when after a moment Zoe tentatively leant her head against his chest.

"Okay then. Okay then let's go."

* * *

"Shut your damn mouth!" was the first thing Sam and Zoe heard when the exited the basement, Zoe blinking like she hadn't seen daylight in a long time.

It was Dean's voice and it was followed by the sound of fist hitting face.

Sam walked down the hall towards the door. When they reached the square of floor at the bottom of the stairs before the front door, Zoe curled up and leant even more closely into Sam's chest as they passed her captor who had clearly regained consciousness and was tied up at the bottom of the stairs.

"You takin' that little bitch with you?" Gasrette spat and Dean glared down at him

"What did I just say!?" he threatened but Gasrette just spat on the ground and chuckled darkly

"If you're takin' her, might wanna take the cuffs with you. Only way to hold the little hellcat down when you want some actio-"

But he didn't get the sentence out as Dean viciously cracked him round the head with his gun, knocking him out once more shouting as he did so

"I told you to shut your damn mouth!"

"It's okay" Sam murmured to Zoe "He wont hurt you again"

Before he carried her from the house.

Settling her in the back of the impala, Sam said

"I'll be right back okay? I just gotta talk to my brother and Cas a minute."

Jogging back up the porch steps Sam pulled Castiel to one side while Dean carried on destroying the various dark objects in the house.

"Think you can get in this guys head?"

"Of course"

"There's no way she's his first vic. Guy like that's a predator. Find out what happened to the last one."

Cas closed his eyes for a moment and then a hard and angry look clouded his angelic face.

"She's buried about half a mile into the woods on the back of this property" he said in a low and disgusted voice. Sam's jaw clenched at this news and he asked in a voice of forced calm.

"Is she the only one?"

"No. There are two more buried a quarter mile to the north and east of the last girl."

"Jesus" Sam seethed before thinking for a moment. Then a thought came to him and he said "Before we go, wake him up. Make him go to the cops and confess to everything except Zoe. You can do that right Cas? Please?"

"Consider it done" Cas agreed.

* * *

It was another hour before all the dark objects were destroyed and they could finally leave.

Cas was the last one to the car after planting the urge to confess in Gasrette's head. He was surprised to find Sam had left shotgun open for him to sit in and was in fact sat in the backseat with Zoe.

They drove to the motel that Dean and Sam were staying in, stopping at a Walmart on the way where the only reason Dean gave when Sam asked why was

"Wait here, be back in a minute."

He was in fact, ten minutes, and returned with two full bags and a box.

Twenty minutes later they were walking through the motel room door, Zoe in Sam's arms. Dean automatically crashed out on the couch, taking up the whole seat. With no other available seats after Castiel sat in the armchair, Sam put Zoe down on the edge of his bed, his heart breaking a little at the look of fear on her face when he did.

He retrieved the first aid kit from the bathroom and walked back to Zoe. Somehow he knew that she wasn't ready to be healed by Cas just yet, so the first aid kit would have to do until she could handle it.

After a lot of reassurance Zoe let Sam treat the worst of her wounds, sitting stock still as he did so. Every injury he saw, every cut her treated made him want to hit something. No not something. It made him want to hit the man he now felt he had let off way too easily.

When he was done, as he backed up and away from her, something hit Sam in the back. Turning round, he just managed to catch the second bag that Dean threw at him. At Sam's questioning glance Dean just shrugged and said

"For her. Don't know if it's the right size."

Sam understood at once and almost smiled. Dean could pretend to be a cold hearted, bad ass all he wanted, but although he may have been bad ass, he had a soft a heart as anyone. Sam handed the bag to Zoe and then rubbed the back of his neck as he said

"Bathroom's over there, uh, shit do you need me to carry you again?"

Zoe shook her head and after a moment's hesitation she extended her hand towards him. A silent request for help. Sam moved closer and Zoe gripped onto his arm. It was only a few metres to the bathroom, and with every step Zoe's bruised legs trembled, clearly from lack of use. But just being out of that house and away from that basement seemed to be making her stronger and she managed, with Sam's help, to walk to the bathroom on her own two feet.

Ten minutes later, she emerged. The clothes Dean had brought for her were nothing fancy. A pair of black sweatpants that seemed to fit reasonably well and a grey t-shirt that although was a small size, still hung loosely off her thin frame. She was carrying a dark red hoodie in her hands and her feet were bare of shoes but a pair of fluffy green socks with squirrels on them.

"Lookin' a hell of a lot better now Zo-bird" Dean grinned and Zoe ducked her head, letting her raven hair fall in front of her face.

Despite her apparent regaining of some of her strength, Zoe was leaning against the door frame like she was still having trouble holding herself up. Using the wall for support, she made her way apprehensively over towards Sam who was now seated in the chair as Cas sat beside Dean on the couch. Sam got up and helped Zoe into the chair, where she curled her legs up of the floor and underneath her, her arms hugging across her own torso.

"Zoe" Sam sat on the edge of the coffee table "Is there someone we can call or take you to? Your parents or-or boyfriend or anyone?"

Zoe shook her head. And then to everyone's surprise (though Castiel was the only one not to show it) she spoke, her voice still a little scratchy and quiet but much stronger and clearer than it had been at the house.

"I got no one. Never did. E-even before..." she tailed off, her eyes taking on a far away look for a moment. It was Dean who spoke next.

"Zoe how long were you in that piece of shits house?"

Zoe shifted in the chair, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

"Got me when I was seventeen"

The brothers exchanged a look and Sam asked

"How long ago was that?"

Zoe squirmed a little like she didn't want to think about it before asking quietly

"What - um- w-what year is it? What's the date?"

"March 2nd 2019" Dean said and Zoe looked like she might faint.

"Oh" was all she could say for a moment "Three years. I was there for three years."

* * *

No one felt that questioning Zoe further was a good idea, especially given the look on her face at the realisation that she had lost three years of her life to a psychotic sadist.

Dean had left, only to return not long later with Chinese takeout, which Zoe wolfed down like she hadn't eaten in quite some time.

Then there came the issue of sleeping arrangements.

While Zoe was in the bathroom, Dean suggested that she take his bed. When Sam had started to protest that he was more than happy to sleep on the couch Dean had said

"She trusts you Sammy. Hell of a lot more than she trusts me at any rate. When she wakes up, my guess is she'd rather have you in the bed next to her than me."

So Zoe took Dean's bed, and after a solemn promise from both brothers and Castiel that no one would to come to her from them or anyone else, she eventually fell asleep. Sam waited for a while to make sure she was truly asleep then headed to the bathroom.

When he came out he frowned upon seeing Castiel sat on the couch looking sickened while Dean was halfway through asking him what was wrong.

"What's going on? Cas you okay?" Sam asked.

"I was just about to ask the same thing. Cas what the hell's the matter with you?" Dean asked, sitting next to his friend.

"Humans" Castiel said after a moment like he was choosing his words carefully "I have discovered, are much easier to read when they're sleeping." Castiel wiped a hand over his face and said, with a glance towards the sleeping Zoe "I can hear her mind. I can see every vile, despicable thing that that man did to her."

There was silence in the room, punctuated only by the soft sounds of Zoe's breathing.

Dean broke it with a voice full of supressed anger and hardness.

"Tell us."

And after a moment, Castiel did.

He told the brothers about the burns, the days without food, every beating, every day that Jeff Gasrette raped her.

Silence.

Such a cold and heavy silence.

.

.

.

.

"I want that guys head on a spike" Dean said with a kind of venom in his voice that Sam had never heard before, but he felt the exact same way.

"I should have killed him" Sam said "forget him spending the rest of his life in prison I want him in hell."

The hotel room was very, very quiet for the whole rest of the night.

Almost the whole night...

* * *

**Next chapter done :)**

**Hope this was okay. I'm still working out how to make the boys sound like themselves so you'll have to forgive if anything sounds a little ooc. **

**Let me know what you think, thoughts, comments, likes, ideas, suggestions, let me have em :)**

**More soon. **

**Geronimo xx**


	3. Fucked In The Head

"Zoe, Zoe wake up! Zoe it's just a dre- shit!"

Sam hit the floor hard clutching his nose and mouth where Zoe had struck him with a bony fist. He landed on his back and looked up to see Zoe sat bolt upright in bed, eyes wide and confused, like she didn't know where she was.

Sam got to his feet wiping blood from where she had managed to split his lip.

"You okay Sammy?" Dean muttered from the couch, eyes still closed.

"Yeah. Go back to sleep." Sam said and almost laughed when he heard Dean sigh sleepily

"Don't have to tell me twice."

Sam looked back at Zoe who was now sat rocking back and forth, knees up to her chest and hands over her eyes. Cautiously he approached and sat on the bed in front of her.

"Zoe?" he said softly. Carefully he took hold of Zoe's skinny wrists and moved her hands away from her face.

"I'm sorry" she whispered hoarsely looking with eyes full of guilt at Sam's bloody lip "I-I'm sorry, I-I thought..."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, it was my fault. I should've known better."

Sam let go of her arms and they sat in silence for a minute. Finally Sam broke it. saying slowly

"Zoe... I know what happened to you. What-what that piece of crap did to you and I-" Sam grit his teeth at the memory of what Cas had told them, then he continued "He's gonna spend the rest of his life in jail, one way or another he'll die behind bars, but you just say the word and I'll do everything, _everything,_ I can to make sure he's dead before he ever stands trial."

Zoe looked slightly surprised at this before she bit her lip and shook her head.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

Zoe bit her lip, nodded then gave him a thin and tired smile.

"I-I don't want to put that on you."

"Trust me" Sam said grimly "It would not weigh on me at all."

"He'll die anyway like you said" Zoe said softly before a surprising level of ferocity entered her voice almost making it a snarl "Let him rot in prison first."

They sat in silence once again, the only sound in the room being Dean's deep breathing.

Sam looked towards the window, where he could just see the top of the crescent moon behind the curtain. When he turned back towards Zoe he was surprised to see her sliding out of bed, supressing a wince when her still slightly weak legs. Slowly and carefully she walked (with the slightest of limps) until she was stood in front of Sam. The twenty year old was so small and Sam so much taller than her that they were almost the same height with him sat and her standing.

"Zoe, you should rest" Sam said but Zoe had a strange look on her face. Every muscle was taught and tensed and her eyes... her eyes had taken on a blank almost living dead sort of look. Like she was there, but not completely there and the part of her that was present n the room wanted to be anywhere else.

"But I haven't thanked you" she whispered, and now Sam was the one to tense up as Zoe moved mere inches away from him, stood between his legs with their faces so close he could count the freckles that dusted her nose.

"Zoe..." Sam said confused and concerned by where this was heading.

"Shhh it's okay. I just want to thank you. Don't worry" she said as she started to sink to her knees and her hands headed towards his belt "I've had a lot of practi-"

But she never got the word practice out because, as soon as she had started to get on her knees Sam had caught her by the shoulders and pulled her back up, standing himself as he did so.

"Don't" he said, a little more harshly than he intended and she flinched so he softened his voice "Don't do that Zoe. You don't have to do that, not with me or Dean. You don't have to do that ever again if you don't want to."

Sam watched as the deadened look slowly faded from Zoe's eyes and tears began to well there instead. Without thinking Sam did what came naturally and used his hold on her shoulders to pull her into his chest and wrap his arms around her. Zoe was tense and rigid for a good thirty seconds before ever so slowly she relaxed into the comforting embrace.

"I'm sorry" came her tearful voice from down by his chest "I-I-I'm so ju-just fucked in the h-head!"

"You're not" Sam soothed "You're not."

They stayed like that for a moment until they slowly came apart.

"You should sleep" Sam said and Zoe nodded moving round him back to the bed she had vacated.

It was a while before Zoe fell back asleep.

It was even longer before Sam let himself drift back into unconsciousness, not wanting to sleep before Zoe.

Not wanting to leave her alone in the dark.

* * *

"Wake up sleepin' beauty!"

Something hit Sam in the face just as Dean's voice roused him from sleep.

He opened his eyes to see a generic diner takeaway bag lying in front of his face and could smell the bacon coming from inside. He sat up and flipped his brother off as he started opening the bag and pulled out a bacon and egg sandwich.

Looking to his right he saw that Zoe was already awake and eating her own sandwich. She gave him a small smile as she paused in between bites but quickly ducked her eyes, clearly uncomfortable after what had almost happened the night before.

As Sam ate a thought occurred to him.

"Where'd Cas go?"

"Don't know. Said something didn't feel right and took off. I think he went back to the house." Dean said through a mouthful of bacon, glancing at Zoe as he did so.

Sam furrowed his brow slightly before pushing the thought away. The three of them ate their breakfast in comfortable silence, punctured only by the mindless chatter coming from some daytime talk show that was on the T.V.

When they finished, Sam and Dean locked eyes for a moment before Sam started to speak to Zoe.

"What do you want to do?" He asked her and she frowned slightly in confusion "I know you said there was no one we could call but can we take you anywhere? Do you have somewhere to go or do you wanna stay-" Sam cut himself off in the middle of his offer to stay, afraid that was too forwards. That and the fact that Dean shot him a look. "What do you want to do?"

Zoe looked down at her hands which she was twisting in her lap and said in a voice barely above a whisper

"Can... can I stay?"

Before Sam could answer, Dean spoke

"I got no problem with you stayin' Zo-bird, just as long as you understand that our lives? They're dangerous. I know you been through hell but you gotta understand that even if we try, me and Sammy may not always be able to protect you." He said seriously and Zoe swallowed.

"I..." she said, tailing off before trying again "I have no where else. No one else. I wont be a problem I swear, I'll stay out of your way and I'll do everything a-and anything you say."

"Zoe it's okay. You can stay. Of course you can stay." Sam smiled easily and Dean cracked a grin as well.

"Welcome to the team Zo-bird!" he said with a wink which had Zoe ducking her head, cheeks flushed as Dean continued "If you're gonna hang with us, you're probably gonna need more than one set of clothes."

Dean cleared his throat and did his best valley girl impersonation as he said

"We should like totally go shopping!"

That earned a giggle from Zoe and a snort of laughter from Sam.

They were walking out of the motel room when it happened.

Sam and Dean had just crossed the threshold into the hall when suddenly -

"Shit! Cas!" Dean said as he turned and jumped when he found himself face to face with the angel. His slight annoyance at the angel turned to confusion, confusion which Sam shared when Cas pushed between them without speaking and entered the motel room, forcing Zoe who had been stood in the doorway to walk backwards further into the room.

"Cas what're you-" but Sam didn't get to finish his question as the door suddenly slammed closed, shutting Sam and Dean on the outside and Castiel and Zoe on the inside.

"Zoe? Cas? What's going on?" Dean's voice called through the door, the doorknob rattling. But he got no answer.

When the man in the trench coat turned to look at her Zoe felt whatever strength she had regained since leaving her prison, drop from her body at the dark expression on the man's - no this was an angel - on the angel's face.

"Hello Zoe" Castiel said in his low, gravelly voice.

He reached into his coat and produced something that made Zoe lose ten shades of colour in her face.

The manacles she had been restrained with in Gasrette's basement.

"I think we need to talk."

* * *

**Dun, dun duuuuuuuh **

**What in Chuck's name is Castiel doing? **

**Hope you enjoyed, let me know what you think :) **

**More soon. **

**Geronimo xx**


	4. Just Breathe

"I think we need to talk."

Zoe didn't speak, just kept looking from the manacles, to Castiel, to the door and back again.

"I would advise against trying to run Zoe" Castiel warned and Zoe gulped as Castiel said "Show me."

The girl didn't move.

"Show. Me." Castiel commanded, his voice dropping lower than it already was as he strode forwards. At the sudden movement, Zoe backed up so fast that she tripped and fell to the ground, but she didn't stop moving. Instead she scuttled backwards on the floor, until she was cowering against the wall between the two beds in the room. Cas was not threatening her. He hadn't raised his voice or so much as even suggested he was going to raise a hand to her, but it didn't matter. Zoe was back in her state of blind terror, just like she had been when they found her.

Suddenly there was a bang as the door was kicked in so hard that it bounced off the wall.

The door, it transpired, had been kicked in (and almost off it's hinges) by Dean, who was the first one through the door followed straight away by Sam.

"Cas what the hell is going on?!" Sam demanded, getting into the angel's face as Dean went to Zoe. She was a little more hesitant with Dean, but eventually she accepted the hand that he offered to her. The older Winchester didn't really know what to do, Sammy had always been better at being kind and supportive than him. So he just gave her the most genuine smile he could offer as he pulled her to her, carefully put an arm around her back and led her over towards Sam, who was still nose to nose with Castiel.

It took Zoe putting a tentative hand on his arm that got Sam to back away at least a little, as he looked down at her.

Castiel looked from brother to brother before beginning to explain

"These aren't just normal human restraints" Castiel said gesturing to where the manacles lay on the floor "I sensed that before but now I know. They are imbued with ancient magic. Spells designed never to be broken from within. Spells designed to contain something of _great_ power."

And Castiel's eyes now fell on Zoe, who looked at the ground.

"Cas c'mon!" Dean said a little incredulously "She can barely stand on her own two feet and you wanna tell us she's some great power?"

"It's easy enough to prove" Castiel said a little wearied and he reach towards Zoe. At once she shrunk away from him, Sam stepped so he was slightly in front of her and even Dean tensed protectively.

"I do not intend her any harm. For now. If I may..." Castiel said, extending his hand once again, palm up the way you hold your hand when you're waiting for someone to put something in it.

No one moved.

Castiel sighed and took a step back, saying

"Then one of you look. If I am right, _which I am_, there is a reason she keeps her hands balled up, her fists clenched."

That got Sam's attention more than Dean's, because something began to nag at his mind. Cas had made a point, since they had rescued her Zoe had kept her hands balled up for almost the entire time she had been with them. He thought it had been because she was so tense around them, but now he thought about it, now he thought back to when he had been tending to her injuries the previous evening she had been very careful not have her palms towards him.

Slowly, Sam turned to look down at Zoe who blinked up at him, before staring back at a point on the ground.

"Zoe?" he asked "Will you show me? Please?"

A pause.

A moment of tremulous silence.

Then she bolted.

Zoe made a dash for the door, adrenaline seeming to make her frail body and legs come alive with energy as she tried to escape.

Tried being the important word.

Because although adrenaline made Zoe fast... Dean was faster.

He caught her by the left arm and pulled her backwards, catching hold of her other arm and pining her arms upper arms to her sides so that she could only bend her elbows, while holding her so that she had her back against his chest and was facing Sam and Castiel. He wasn't rough, or aggressive about it, but there was no way in her weakened state that Zoe was going to get away. The realisation of this was evident in her eyes though it didn't stop her struggling against the older Winchester.

"Hey, hey! Take it easy! You're gonna hurt yourself! Take it easy and breath!" Dean said, before changing to a tactic that surprised both his brother, Castiel and even himself.

Dean adjusted his grip so that instead of holding her by her arms, he wrapped his arms all the way around her, almost like a bear hug. It was effective in that it kept her arms pinned to her sides, but also in that it brought her closer to his body and that was what he was aiming for. Holding her close he lowered his head so that he could speak right next to her ear

"Breath. Just breath. Ain't gonna hurt ya. Breath Zo-bird." and as he spoke he slowed down and over exaggerated his own breathing so that she would stop hyperventilating and begin to breath in time with him.

Slowly it began to work.

Zoe's breathing began to slow down and even out, though Dean did not let her go.

Sam stepped forwards and carefully reached down and lifted Zoe's clenched fists.

"It's okay" He said softly "Show me."

And all the fight went out of Zoe as she was resigned to the fact that she wasn't going to win in this situation. Slowly, reluctantly she relaxed her clenched hands and allowed Sam to carefully open her hands.

Sam and Dean looked down with wide eyes and huge frowns at what was revealed to them on Zoe's hands, while Castiel looked on without surprise until Sam said

"Kid why the hell do you got Hex brands on you?"

And Dean followed up with

"And what witch do I have to kill to get them off?"

* * *

**And so the truth begins to be revealed...**

**Zoe has the unmistakable marks of a witches curse on her hands and our Winchester boys are not happy about it. **

**I know it's kind of short but the action will start to build more in the next couple chapters I promise! **

**Still want to know what you want to see happen shipping wise lol. **

**Let me know what you liked, what could be better and what you want to see come up, I love to hear from you! **

**More soon.**

**Geronimo xx**


	5. Young, Old, Dead or Alive

"I was ten"

Zoe was sat on the couch, curled up, her knees pulled up to her chest and refusing to make eye contact with any of them.

After the spell brands had been revealed, Cas had backed off and Zoe had calmed down ever so slightly, Dean released her from his hold. Now, after much coxing and promising, Zoe was ready to talk. While she sat huddled in on herself on the couch, Sam sat in the armchair, Dean leant against the wall and Cas hovered in the corner.

"I was ten and my dad was dying. Mom went to the wrong witch for help. She let this witch live like ten years ago, I guess she thought she owed her-"

"Wait" Dean interrupted with a frown "Was your mom- was your mom a hunter?"

Zoe nodded.

"Until she met my dad and got pregnant with me."

Dean had an odd look on his face, but nodded once, an indication for Zoe to continue.

"Mom shouldn't have done it. She always said young, old, dead or alive witches are a pain in the ass. But... she loved my dad." Zoe sniffed as the memories played out in her head "Witch wouldn't help. Only for a price. Me. She wanted me - I-I don't know why, but that's what she wanted. Mom said yes. The witch saved my dad and mom immediately tried to back out of the deal. She tried renegotiating and when that didn't work she killed the witch. Problem solved right?"

Zoe rubbed her hands over her face and let out a tired half sigh, half chuckle that had no humour behind it, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

"Except this witch wasn't alone. And her coven came after us. Hard."

A single tear slid down her face.

"They killed our friends. Family. Grandparents went. They even killed my fucking puppy. Drowned him and then strung him up from my front door. Found him when I came home from school."

Zoe's hands were clenched so tightly that her knuckles looked like they were at risk of splitting through her skin and a small trickle of blood ran down her wrist from where her nails had cut into her branded palms.

"Then they came for us. Kept us locked in the house for four days. Tortured my dad then killed him" Her tears were falling in earnest now thick and fast down her cheeks but they fell silently "Right in front of us."

And she could no longer keep her cries silent and Zoe's body was now wracked with sobs. Dean came away from the wall and moved towards her and even Cas took a step forwards but Sam got there first. Moving from the chair he sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her. He wondered if he should have reconsidered this move when he felt her flinch at his initial touch. After a few moments of tension gripping her body however she relaxed into his side, until her sobs subsided into deep breathing which then subsided into silent tears once more.

Once she had regained enough of her composure, Zoe sat up again and Sam let his arm fall from her body to lie across the back of the couch behind her.

"Zoe" Dean's voice was softer than Sam and Castiel had ever heard it before "How'd you get outta there?"

Zoe sniffed and wiped at her eyes.

"My mom. She was begging them, begging them not to kill me. So they said 'Okay. We wont kill her. But you will.' And-and-and they cursed me. And then they disappeared." Zoe said, biting her lip.

There was silence in the room for a long while until Sam asked slowly

"They left you and your mom alive? Zoe... I don't understand, you said there was no one we could call for you. Where's your mom?"

Zoe didn't answer just put her head in her hands and then stood up sharply from the sofa. Everyone could see the way her legs trembled as she walked away from the couch, arms hugging her own torso and head bowed, not looking at anyone.

"Zoe?"

"Her mother is dead." Castiel gravelly voice spoke up "Zoe killed her."

Sam looked horrified, Dean looked taken a back and Zoe span round eyes wide clearly afraid and shocked at Castiel's words.

"H-how-how did you- how could you kn-know that?! How-"

"He erm, he can read minds. Probably should have mentioned that earlier." Dean said ruefully as Sam got to his feet saying

"Zoe what happened?"

But Zoe had regressed back to her mute state and shook her head violently as she stumbled away from Sam and Dean. She looked around her wildly and seeing that Castiel stood between her and the only exit she dived into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

As Sam looked at the locked door, Dean turned to Cas and said

"Okay she wont talk. You tell us. What the hell happened that made that girl - who I don't think has a vicious bone in her body - tell us why she killed her own mom."

* * *

Inside the small motel bathroom, Zoe was sat huddled on the floor, her back to the door and her head in her hands.

They would kill her.

If the angel knew the truth they would kill her.

She could hear the sound of their voices speaking in the motel room.

Twisting her head so that one ear was against the door she could now hear what they were saying.

So she sat.

And she listened.

* * *

"It's called the tenebris viventem sanguis curse. Literally translated as the dark creature blood curse." Castiel began to explain to the brothers.

"When she is triggered, Zoe turns into some kind of beast, designed to hunt and kill. All traces of who she is disappear and she becomes a creature of pure instinct."

"Cas what happened to her mom?"

Castiel sighed.

"After the coven inflicted the curse upon Zoe her mother attacked her. Zoe remembers it being because her mother couldn't bare to see her daughter become like the things she used to hunt. There was a struggle and blood was spilt. This triggered the curse and Zoe transformed for the first time. She tore her mother apart." Cas said grimly and the brothers faces took on almost identical expression of grave understanding.

"What do we do?" It was Sam who asked the question and Dean looked at his brother questioningly so Sam said "We can't just let her leave, if she attacks someone else that would be on us so-"

"I'm not killin' the girl!" Dean growled and Sam looked almost hurt at his brothers words.

"You think I want that? No so I'm asking what do we do?"

"Please don't kill me."

All both men and the angel looked up to see Zoe standing in the doorway to the bathroom.

"I-I've lived through too much to die now. Just-just-just let me go. I-I have better control of it now, I'll just disappear and you wont- you wont have to worry about me - I don't - I mean I hadn't hurt someone in years before-before G-Gasrette got me! Please I-"

"Zoe, Zoe!" Dean interrupted "No one is gonna kill you. No one is even gonna hurt you, didn't Sammy promise you that?"

Zoe nodded and Dean turned to Sam and Castiel.

"She was gonna stay with us anyway. She stays, we can keep an eye on her, keep Zoe and everyone else safe."

So it was agreed.

Zoe now _had _to stay.

Dean grinned clapped his hands and turned back to Zoe.

"Looks like you're stuck with us Zo-bird. Now I want pie. Wanna come with?"

* * *

**Next chapter done :) **

**So I swear either next chapter or possibly the chapter after the action will start again, I know this chapter probably sucked so i'm sorry. **

**BTW - anyone notice the originals reference? Let me know if you do lol. **

**Let me know what you think, likes, dislikes, ideas etc. More reviews = faster updates. **

**More soon. **

**Geronimo xx**


	6. Nerd Bird

They had fallen into a routine.

A weird routine.

But a routine none the less.

Over the two weeks after the truth came out, it was Sam who pushed them to try and maintain as much structure as was possible to maintain in a life like theirs. His reasoning was two fold.

One- Curse or no curse Zoe had three years of trauma on her shoulders. He remembered reading somewhere once that structure could help people get back some semblance of a normal life.

Two- he figured that in some ways, Zoe's curse might be something like living with being a werewolf and it was possible for people to do that if they could keep some modicum of control in their lives.

Their funny little routine went as follows...

Dean and Sam would wake up first, usually because Zoe would be exhausted from nightmares waking her every half an hour through the night. One of the brothers would go to the nearest diner or deli and pick up breakfast. Sam would then gently wake Zoe from slumber and the three of them would eat, while Sam scoured the papers for any potential cases.

Then they would pile into the impala and head to whatever town needed saving from whatever monster, spirit or demon that was terrorising it, sometimes joined there by Castiel. They would book into a new motel room and then start investigating. Or rather, two out of the three or four of them would start investigating.

It would alternate between:

Sam and Dean.

Dean and Cas.

Sam and Cas.

Sometimes, when Castiel was not around, Dean or Sam would go out investigating alone.

This was because it was decided right at the beginning of the new arrangement that someone should stay with Zoe at all times, until she was in a fit state to join them in the field, which, given the amount they didn't know about her curse, could be a long time away. Whoever wasn't out interviewing witnesses, conning their way into crime scenes and generally breaking a lot of laws, would be back at the motel with Zoe, who had insisted that she be allowed to help in any way she could, which meant a lot of research.

She had thrown herself into it with such vigour (desperate for something to focus on instead of becoming absorbed in memories of her past traumas) that Dean had christened her with a few new nicknames to go along with Zo-bird. These included but weren't not limited to.

"Dork in training"

"Sam with boobs"

"Nerd bird"

But Zoe didn't mind. Dean's teasing made her feel more like a normal person and less... damaged.

Sam helped to of course. He treated her normally, but he also knew when normal wasn't what she needed, like when she needed bringing out of a nightmare, waking or sleeping. Thankfully, the night she offered to 'thank him' was the first and last time that happened, which made Zoe feel a little bit better about herself. She liked Sam and didn't want to make him uncomfortable.

Sam was sweet to her it was true but that didn't stop him from joining in Dean's teasing every now and then.

"Nice to know I might not be the biggest nerd in the room with you around Zoe!"

In fact the only person - I mean angel - who still sometimes treated her like an unexploded bomb was Castiel.

But she knew why.

On one of the nights when Castiel was left on baby sitting duty while Sam and Dean were out hunting a vengeful spirit, Zoe had, for the first time, broached a conversation with Castiel.

"Why do you hate me?"

Castiel had looked at her slightly surprised.

"I do not hate you Zoe." He said in his low gravelly voice "I do not. I am simply concerned for both your safety and the safety of those around you, immediately or otherwise."

She knew who he was talking about.

"I wont hurt them. I wont hurt anyone."

"And I want to believe that. But my belief in your ability to do so is not as strong as I wish it were."

"B-before he took me, I was getting better. Better at controlling it. I-I wasn't quite there but now? Now I have three very compelling reasons not to lose my cool."

It was the most words that Zoe had ever said in Castiel's presence let alone directly to him, and the angel appraised her.

"You have faith in that fact? That you can keep them safe?"

"I..." Zoe paused like she was considering her words carefully "I have faith in you. And Sam and Dean. I have faith that you all wont let me hurt anyone." she swallowed like she was steeling herself for what she was going to say next "Even if you have to put me down."

Since that point, there had been a kind of mutual respect between Zoe and Castiel. It wasn't quite a friendship, not yet, but there was an understanding there.

And that was their life now.

Weird.

Sometimes scary.

Definitely unconventional.

But most importantly to Zoe, safe.

She felt safe for the first time in a long time.

* * *

_**St Ives Park Town, Nashville, 5 months after Zoe's rescue**_

"It's a siren."

"Damn" Sam sighed, dropping his book as Dean swore under his breath and flopped down onto the couch. Zoe frowned at their reactions.

"Have you met one before?" she asked, closing her own book.

"Yeah, a while back." Sam said, running his hands through his mop of hair. "It erm… it could have gone better."

"But we got the bastard in the end" Dean supplied from the couch. Sam suddenly sat bolt upright and turned to his brother.

"Dean, that journalist! What was her name Kathy? Katie something?"

"Blonde? Nice rack?" Dean said and Sam rolled his eyes, while Zoe looked away, her cheeks slightly tinged pink.

"Yeah, her. Think about it, she's new to town, she's been at every crime scene..."

Dean got to his feet, seemingly newly invigorated at the idea of taking out a monster that had claimed four innocent lives.

"Let's go get the bitch then!"

"One of us has to stay" Sam reminded him quietly, and Zoe felt her blush darken even further, but this time with shame.

"Sammy, solo hunting a siren? Not a good idea dude, you know that."

"Castiel is off doing Chuck knows what, we cant just-"

"I'll be fine."

Both Sam and Dean turned to look at Zoe, who was still avoiding eye contact. Finally she looked hesitantly up at the two of them.

"If I can't manage one night on my own, then Gasrette might as well have killed me." she said bluntly and she didn't miss the way that Dean clenched his fist and a muscle twitched in Sam's jaw at the mention of her captor and abusers name.

Sam and Dean looked at each other for a long moment.

"You don't open the door to anyone but us" Dean said sternly and Zoe nodded.

"I'll keep the door locked, I'll text you every hour, I'll keep the-the cuffs close in case I even think I'm going to... change." she spoke the last word in a small voice, before saying in a voice of slight shame but forced control

"I can't keep feeling like a burden to you. And you can't base your lives around making sure I'm not a risk."

And although they weren't happy about it, neither Sam nor Dean could see a way around it that didn't end with one of them getting hurt. They tooled up, preparing to take on the siren and then headed towards the door.

"Every hour Zo-bird" Dean said and Zoe nodded.

"If we don't get a text from you on the hour, every hour we abandon the hunt and come straight back." Sam promised and Zoe gave him what she hoped was a confident smile.

"I'll be fine."

And with that the two boys left, hearing the sound of Zoe locking and bolting the door behind them.

"Let's just get this bitch so we don't have to leave her alone any longer than we have to yeah?" Dean said upon seeing the look on Sam's face.

"Yeah. Let's just get it done."

* * *

It was nearly 3am when a knock at the door made Zoe nearly jump out of her skin.

"Zoe? Zoe it's me."

She sighed in relief at the sound of Sam's voice and went over to open the door. Sam walked into the room alone and squeezed her shoulder as he passed.

"Where's Dean?"

"Getting pie." Sam said with a tired chuckle "He says it's celebratory pie for getting the job done."

"You got her then?"

"Yeah we got it."

"Good."

The two of them sat down beside each other on the couch and Sam flicked on the crappy tv in the corner of the room. Zoe happily lost herself in the episode of Doctor Who that was playing, T.V being one of the little things she hadn't realised she had missed during her captivity.

After a little while she became aware of a tingling sensation on the side of her face.

Turning slightly, she saw that it was due to the fact Sam was watching her intently.

She ducked her head, unable to maintain the eye contact.

Suddenly Sam's warm fingers had taken her gently by the chin and turned her face back towards him, his eyes seeming to stare straight into her soul.

"What- what are you doing Sam?" Zoe all but whispered.

"I don't know." Sam muttered, eyes darting to her lips.

Then he closed the distance between them.

And kissed her.

* * *

**Ta da! **

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH SAMMY AND ZOE SITTIN IN A TREE!**

**What do you guys think? I love to hear your likes and thoughts and ideas and what you want to see! **

**More soon. **

**Geronimo xx**


	7. Not your type

"Hey, hey! It's okay, you're okay darlin' breathe! Breathe..."

That was Dean's voice.

She had to identify him by his voice as all she could see was white.

Blinking rapidly, tiny fragments began to come back into colour, walls that were an ugly shade of dark orange, a beige ceiling and a pair of green eyes looking down at her.

Dean's eyes.

"You're okay darlin'. You're okay." Dean's whole face was clear to her now as his soothing words reached her ears and her breathing, which she hadn't even noticed was almost at hyperventilation level, began to slow.

"Dean?"

"One and only" he grinned and then shifted to help her sit up. Zoe looked around, realising that they were in a different motel room to the one they had been in when they had been hunting the...

"Sam! Wh-What did I do, did I hurt him, where is-"

"Zoe, Zoe, ZOE! Sam's fine. Couple of stitches that's it, he's getting patched up now- hey where're you goin'?"

Dean interrupted his own sentence as Zoe sprang to her feet, staggered slightly, then made for the door.

"I have to go! I have to leave, I-I cant be around you guys, I can't-" Zoe was manic, eyes wide, whole body trembling, as Dean dodged around her and blocked her path to the door, catching her in his arms as she stumbled again and nearly fell.

"Zoe don't. Don't do that, do not blame yourself for what that piece of shit Siren made you do!"

Zoe was already shaking and began to convulse more as her body was overtaken by crying. Dean didn't know what else to do but continue to hold the young woman as she cried, her face buried in his chest. After a moment, he gently led her back towards the bed and sat both of them down beside each other.

They sat there together, with no noise but the sound of Zoe's slowly subsiding sobs.

Eventually there was silence, but they just continued to sit there, Zoe's head on Dean's shoulder, Dean's arm around Zoe's back.

He was the one who broke the silence.

"Think you can tell me what went down Zo?"

* * *

_As it happened it felt like forever but was really less than 40 seconds._

_The kiss was..._

_Almost chaste._

_Sam was being so gentle, his lips feather light against hers, one hand softly cupping her cheek._

_So gentle..._

_until he wasn't._

_Sam started applying more pressure, moving closer, drawing use of his height to lean over her until she was lying on her back on the couch, and his tongue began seeking entrance._

_And suddenly it wasn't Sam who was above her, kissing her, it was him._

_The man who had kept her prisoner, who had beaten her, tortured her, raped her._

_It was his face she could see, his hands she could feel and she wanted it to stop._

_"Sam!" she gasped, pulling her face away and trying to sit up "Sam, p-please, I-I-I can't, I don't want t-to, I-"_

_Sam stopped._

_Sort of._

_He stopped trying to shove his tongue down her throat and instead started in on her neck and collar bone._

_"Sam? Sam I'm scar- I don't want-"_

_"Shhhhhhhhh" Sam hummed against her skin "It's okay sweetheart. You want us to be together right? If you just do one little thing for me, we can be together for ever. You just have to take care of one- I mean two little problems."_

_Zoe was shaking, her body gripped by panic because he wasn't stopping, just like Gasrette, he wasn't going to stop, he was going to- wait what did he say?_

_Her eyes widened in horror as she realised who - or what - was currently above her._

_"S-siren" she breathed out and suddenly she was fighting him- it- whatever. She had made a promise to herself she would never be that helpless girl again, and so she threw everything she could at fighting the siren off her, everything she could without losing control._

_"shhhh don't fight it baby" Siren Sam crooned, his large hand moving up to grip her jaw, forcing her mouth open "together forever remember?"_

_And then everything disappeared._

* * *

"That's the last bit I remember."

Dean was conflicted.

On one hand he wanted to bring the siren back to life so he could repeatedly punch it in the face with a brick.

On the other he wanted to do something to bring some kind of light back into Zoe's face.

He chose the latter.

"Sooooo" he said, tentatively breaking into a half smirk "I'm a little offended that Sam was your Siren choice. What, am I not your type nerd bird?"

Zoe let out a hysterical little chuckle and then hiccuped.

"It's not like that" she mumbled "Sam was the first friendly face I'd seen in years, I-"

"Hey you don't have to explain shit to me Zo-bird. I get it." Dean assured her.

"He's going to hate me" Zoe whispered and Dean snorted.

"If you really think a couple of scratches is gonna make Sammy hate you then I'm takin' away your nerd status and putting you on idiot level with me." he said dismissively and Zoe hiccuped/giggled lightly.

"You're not an idiot Dean" she said and Dean squeezed her arm lightly.

"Thanks kiddo" he said.

They were interrupted from saying anything more by the sudden appearance of Castiel before them.

"J.C, Mary and Joseph Cas! You cant keep doin' that!" Dean exclaimed but Castiel ignored him, eyes fixed on Zoe who swallowed nervously but met his gaze.

"I need to talk to Zoe Dean."

"Okay?"

"Alone" Cas said gravelly and Dean got to his feet, looking angry and putting himself in front of Zoe.

"No, no way. It was a one time accident Cas, it wasn't her faul-"

"Dean" Zoe interrupted him quietly "Dean it's okay."

Dean looked from Zoe to Castiel and then back again asking the young woman

"You sure Zo?"

Zoe nodded, with a small, tremulous smile. Dean walked to the door, paused and turned back to Castiel.

"You even think about hurting her Cas..." Dean let the threat hang in the air before leaving the room.

* * *

Neither Castiel or Zoe spoke for a moment.

"Are you going to kill me Castiel?" Zoe's voice was surprisingly calm as she spoke.

"Every fibre of my being is telling me that I should."

Zoe was glad, in a strange way, that Castiel hadn't lied to her.

"Dean's right" she offered "It was a freak event Castiel. I didn't lose control. That... thing, forced the turn."

"But you _did_ turn Zoe" Castiel said grimly.

"Castiel I-"

But Zoe didn't get any further as there was the sound of angry voices from outside and then...

Sam burst into the room, Dean not far behind.

"What the hell Cas?"

* * *

**Ta da. **

**Sorry it's been a while!**

**What do you think? Lemme hear ya!**

**More soon. **

**Geronimo xx**


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